He smiled mischievously.
"I don't even know my lady's name."
He shamelessly called her "my lady."
After some thought, I lied to him.
"My humble name is Yu'er."
"Yu'er, a beautiful name."
"As for me, oh no, your husband is called Da Tongtian."
"Da Tongtian?"
What a disgusting name.
He suddenly reached out and grabbed my hand, lewdly caressing it.
The people behind us, seeing this intimate scene, couldn't help but tease.
"Big Brother is indeed a seasoned player in love, already holding hands so quickly."
"Big Brother is too impatient. In this wilderness, isn't it inappropriate to do that?"
"Hahaha"
This remark immediately erupted into laughter.
Da Tongtian felt a bit embarrassed and replied with a smile,
"Since I've decided to take the beauty back, we must first foster some affection.
After all, such a connection is rare."
As he spoke, he continued to restlessly stroke my hand.
In a moment, I devised a plan to escape.
Instead of being cold, I proactively said,
"Since I'm about to become Big Brother's person, I should also foster some affection.
Coincidentally, I want to check on my horse. Come with me."
Hearing this, he was overjoyed and said,
"Good, good, good."
His brothers behind him watched like spectators, laughing heartily.
"Big Brother is so fortunate to have found such an understanding sister-in-law."
"Our brothers are truly envious."
"Big Brother is truly capable."
Listening to his brothers' teasing, he blushed and said with a smile,
"Go on, go on, get out of here."
His brothers burst into laughter again.
I led him to my horse, lowered my head to its head, and whispered,
"Back mountain, wait for me."
Then I slightly straightened up and patted the horse's back.
Turning back, I looked at Da Tongtian with a smile.
Gently raising my hand, I caressed his cheek.
Da Tongtian was instantly stirred by this alluring gesture, his face flushing even more.
I said to him,
"I have some little secrets I want to whisper to you, and I'm a bit shy to let your brothers know.
Let's go over there, where it's quieter."
I pointed to the dark woods in the distance, asking him to accompany me.
He frowned slightly, worried,
"It's too dark over there, isn't it?"
I replied,
"That's easy, you can just light a fire."
He thought this was a good idea.
So, using his fingernails, he conjured a faint spark of fire.
I pulled him into the woods.
Seeing that we were far from the others, he excitedly said,
"What secrets does my lady wish to share with me?"
I used my alluring charm again, gently raising my hand to caress his cheek.
I chuckled softly,
"Big Brother, close your eyes. I have something for you."
Da Tongtian was filled with surprise and joy, nodding eagerly and closing his eyes.
I pulled his hands away, stroking his face and soothing him,
"Don't open your eyes, okay? Only open them when I tell you to.
I've never kissed anyone before, and seeing how handsome and unique you are, I've fallen for you.
Today, this humble girl will give you this kiss."
Hearing this, his heart raced with excitement and boundless joy.
I said again,
"Big Brother, I'm going to kiss you now!"
He happily nodded in agreement.
Seeing that his eyes were tightly shut, I slowly retreated, planning to escape.
Who would have thought he would suddenly open his eyes?
Just as I turned, I quickly turned back, saying with a hint of annoyance,
"Big Brother, why did you open your eyes? How can I kiss you like this?"
He gave a simple, honest laugh and quickly apologized.
"Oh dear, I was afraid you'd run off! It's my fault, I'll close them again."
"Big Brother is so naughty~, where else could I possibly run?"
So cheesy.
Seeing that I was still there, he was overjoyed and closed his eyes again.
Seeing that his eyes were firmly shut, I hurried away.
Suddenly, a dark shadow darted out from the woods.
Upon closer inspection, it was my horse, it had indeed come.
I quickly mounted the horse and rode away.
The poor leader was still waiting foolishly.
After waiting for a long time without sensing any movement, he grew suspicious and asked,
"My lady, are you done?"
The surroundings were silent, not even a whisper of wind could be heard.
Receiving no response, he called out again,
"My lady?"
Still no response, he suddenly became flustered and quickly opened his eyes.
He looked around, and it was pitch black, completely empty, with no trace of anyone.
Based on his years of experience, he was certain that this woman had run off.
The realization hit him, and anger surged. He ran back to their encampment and shouted to his brothers,
"Brothers, that woman ran away!"
"What?"
Everyone was shocked, but not entirely surprised.
He said angrily,
"This woman tricked me into the woods and then ran off."
He omitted the part about closing his eyes, fearing his brothers would laugh at him.
"What should we do?"
A brother asked.
"I think she hasn't gone far. Get on your horses and chase her! If I catch her, I'll make her pay."
"Yes"
A group of men quickly mounted their horses and gave chase.
I knew that if I took the main road, they would surely catch up.
So, I switched to a smaller path and darted into the woods to hide.
Before long, the sound of hooves approached.
Then, I saw a group of people galloping past on the main road.
Just as I had predicted, they were chasing along the main road.
Seeing them depart, I finally led my horse out and headed in the opposite direction.
The sky gradually brightened, and the surroundings became clearer.
Now, heading to Nan Hai City, I could only rely on my horse to know the way.
I leaned close to the horse's ear and whispered,
"Brother Horse, please, take me to Nan Hai City, but don't take the main road."
The horse nodded slightly, then looked ahead and suddenly started running.
I quickly settled myself on its back.
After traveling for countless days and nights, I finally reached Nan Hai City.
At this time, Ada was still lingering in Hai Nan City, often strolling through the streets in the past few days.
As I happened to pass by, he saw me from a distance and quickly chased after me, shouting,
"Mu Ye! Mu Ye!"
Hearing the calls, I turned around and saw him.
However, this was not the right time for a reunion.
I could only offer him a smile and a nod.
Then, without looking back, I left Nan Hai City and headed towards the vast ocean.
Ada was bewildered. He chased a few steps but couldn't catch up and gave up.
Panting, he placed his hands on his thighs and said in confusion,
"Didn't Mu Ye go home? Why is she back?
And A Li isn't with her. Judging by her hurried demeanor, has something happened?"
Thinking this, he felt a slight worry.
However, there was nothing he could do now, as the horse was fast.
Even if he chased after her now, by the time he left the city, she would likely be long gone.
He could only keep his questions to himself, hoping nothing had happened.
After leaving Nan Hai City, I continued my journey to the vast ocean without rest.
After another day and night of travel, both horse and rider were exhausted.
It was early morning on this day when the little horse carried me into a forest.
It seemed to have smelled something and suddenly stopped.
"What is it?"
Seeing it stop, I felt a vague unease and asked worriedly.
The horse suddenly spoke,
"It seems there's a very strong aura of a great demon here."
"A great demon's aura?"
Filled with doubt, I looked around, but the surroundings were quiet, not even a whisper of wind.
I also sensed that something was wrong and said to it,
"Let's leave quickly."
"Alright."
As it was about to move forward, kicking its legs,
Suddenly, several crows flew down from the trees and pecked at it.
I waved my arms, trying to drive the crows away.
Unexpectedly, the crows suddenly soared up and pecked me.
I covered my face in surprise and exclaimed,
"Why are there so many crows here?"
"It seems this place is not safe. Sit tight, and let's run out."
"Okay."
The little horse raised its front body high, kicked away the attacking crows, and charged out.
At this moment, a piece of wood suddenly flew out from the woods behind us, knocking me off the horse.
Then, more and more ghost-like black crows attacked us.
These crows were extremely fierce, and after just a few swoops, they had already scratched me all over.
The horse's back also bore several wounds, and it neighed in anger.
If this continued, both the horse and I would perish here, so I shouted,
"Let's split up and run! You go!"
Saying this, I ran backward. The little horse, hearing my words, ran forward.
Thus, we were forced to separate.
Running backward, I don't know how long I ran before reaching a slope.
The noisy sound of flapping wings came from behind me.
An idea struck me, and I decisively jumped down the slope, hiding behind the tall grass.
At this moment, the black crows also caught up. They circled a few times, couldn't find me, and had to leave in a hurry.
Seeing them depart, I finally breathed a sigh of relief and stumbled to my feet.
I walked onto the path and continued southward.
However, the mountain paths were not like the main roads, where one could easily see where they were going.
These mountain paths had many forks. After not walking for long, I encountered a three-way intersection.
After some thought, I continued straight ahead.
Not long after, I encountered a crossroads.
With no other choice, I had to play a game of chance, pointing to the right path, and headed that way.
However, I still couldn't get out of the mountains, nor did I see the main road.
I was filled with confusion, wondering where I had ended up.
As the sky began to turn red, the night was about to fall.
I could only hurry my pace, trying to find the main road.
However, on the last selection of paths, I kept going south and entered a forest.
Now that night had fallen, the entire forest was as silent and dead as a dark shadow.
Not a trace of light could be seen, as if walking inside an ink bottle, it was pitch black.
I walked forward haphazardly and suddenly stumbled on a stone.
"Ouch!" I cried, falling to the ground.
Carefully getting up, I had to find a place sheltered from the wind to spend the night.
Walking a few more steps, I leaned against the mountainside and lay down.
After days of relentless travel, I was utterly exhausted.
As soon as I lay down, I felt overwhelmed with sleepiness. I gently closed my eyes, not caring about anything else, and was about to fall asleep.
Suddenly, a small stone flew out and hit me on the head.
"Ouch!"
I cried out in pain, quickly opened my eyes, and shouted,
"Who! Who hit me!"
However, the surroundings were eerily silent, with only the faint sound of the wind blowing.
I suddenly became nervous and a little scared.
I couldn't help but recall the days I spent with A Li.
In the dark nights with him, even on a night like this, I felt safe.
Now that he was gone, and I was alone, I felt uneasy.
It was then I realized how terrifying it was to be accustomed to being alone.
Rubbing my forehead, I comforted myself,
"Perhaps the wind blew the stone. It's nothing to worry about. If I'm truly scared, it's better to just sleep."
With that thought, I lay down again, closed my eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
Suddenly, I heard a faint crying sound near my ear.
I immediately became alert, sat up quickly, and listened carefully. It sounded like a woman's cry.
My heart suddenly filled with terror. I looked into the pitch-black darkness and quickly reassured myself not to be afraid.
Covering my ears with my hands might help.
Suddenly, the crying grew louder, as if it were just ahead.
I cautiously looked around.
In the darkness ahead, a faint, flickering light suddenly appeared.
It seemed to be a few specks of light, blinking on and off.
So, I became bolder, thinking that in this world, there were only demons, no ghosts.
With this belief, I slowly stood up.
Cautiously, I walked forward to investigate, where the crying sound was coming from.
Tiptoeing, I crept closer.
Suddenly, I saw a figure slumped on the ground.
Upon closer inspection, I saw that the person was wearing white clothes and had long hair, appearing to be a woman.
Beside her, a lantern was placed. Her back was to me, and she was sobbing softly.
Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be a person.
Gathering my courage, I cautiously approached and asked,
"Why are you here alone?"
Hearing my voice, the person suddenly stopped crying.
She picked up a handkerchief and carefully wiped her tears but did not answer. I asked again,
"Why are you here alone?"
She suddenly looked up, startling me so much that I screamed, "Ah!" and collapsed to the ground.
After a moment, I recovered and finally saw clearly that the person before me was an old woman.
Her face was haggard, and her complexion was pale.
If one didn't look closely, she truly resembled a hanged ghost, especially her dull, lifeless eyes.
I took a few steps back and cautiously asked,
"Old, old, old, old lady, what are you doing here!"
The old woman slowly stood up, picked up the lantern from the ground, and looked at me, who had lost half my soul from fright.
She began to recount her woes.
"I have an unfilial son who insisted on traveling the world, acting as a wandering knight.
I disagreed, and he argued with me. I told him to get out and never come back.
As a result, he truly left. I chased him for a day but couldn't catch up."
Hearing this reason, I finally relaxed. My legs, which had been trembling from fear, also gradually calmed down.
I let out a slow sigh and comforted her,
"Old lady, don't be too sad. If you ask me, your son is too unfilial."
She wiped her tears with her handkerchief and replied,
"Isn't that the truth? He doesn't even spend time with me. Raising a son is such a burden."
Seeing her reminded me of my family back in the human world.
Suddenly, I felt a pang of sympathy. Seeing her alone in this desolate place in the middle of the night, I felt it was also unsafe.
So, I proactively said,
"Old lady, let me escort you back."
"You are such a kind young lady. I live on the mountainside just ahead. I'll trouble you."
"It's my duty."
I felt a little delighted. I never expected to meet someone in such a desolate place.
Tonight, I finally had a place to stay.